10 years after he disappeared, Iowa man is found dead at vacant store where he used to work: Police

July 23, 2019

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aijohn784/iStock(COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa) -- Ten years after an Iowa man mysteriously disappeared, his body was discovered wedged behind a cooler in a vacant grocery store where he used to work, police said.

In 2009, Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada was a 25-year-old working at a No Frills Supermarket store in Council Bluffs,Iowa, said Council Bluffs police officials.

On Nov. 28, 2009, Murillo-Moncada's parents reported him missing, telling authorities that their son "became upset and ran out of their home," said police.

He was never seen alive again.

A decade later, on Jan. 24, 2019, crews were removing shelving and coolers at the now-vacant grocery store and discovered a body, said police.

Last week Council Bluffs police learned from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation that the body was identified as Murillo-Moncada, police officials announced Monday.

Investigators believe Murillo-Moncada left home, went to the grocery store, climbed on the coolers, and then fell into a roughly 18-inch gap between the back of the cooler and the wall and became trapped, said police.

The death has been classified as accidental, police said. His autopsy indicates no signs of trauma, said police.

Former employees said it was common for workers to be on top of the grocery store's coolers because the space was used for storage, according to police.

The grocery store closed in 2016, according to Omaha ABC affiliate KETV.

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